Bellorchestia quoyana

Bellorchestia quoyana
Sand Hopper (Bellorchestia Quoyana)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Amphipoda
Family: Talitridae
Genus: Bellorchestia
Species: B. quoyana
Binomial name
Bellorchestia quoyana
(H. Milne-Edwards, 1840)
Synonyms[1]
  • Talitrus brevicornis Milne Edwards, 1840
  • Talorchestia quoyana H. Milne-Edwards, 1840

Bellorchestia quoyana (formerly Talorchestia quoyana)[1] is the largest and most common species[2] of sandhopper, endemic to New Zealand. Its length is up to 14 millimetres (0.55 in). They help to keep the beaches clean by breaking down any organic material, which is vital for plant succession. They are nocturnal and bury themselves up to 30 centimetres (12 in) during the day (the drier the sand, the deeper they go).[3]

Description

Bellorchestia quoyana reaches lengths of 29 millimetres, with males being slightly larger than females. The body is typically light-yellowish brown with marbled markings of a darker brown generally assimilating the appearance sand. It has a single pair of black eyes and two distinct pairs of antennae. The first pair of antennae are short and extend a little beyond the first joint of antennae 2. The second pair are more robust and extent beyond the head and first three body segments in females and over half the body length in males. The second section of antennae 2 is twice the length of the first.[2]

Distribution

Bellorchestia quoyana is found on sandy beaches all around the coasts of New Zealand.[2]

References

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.